Blizzard of 2011

I woke up this morning and this is what I saw outside my dining room window.
uh oh.

This is what I saw outside the garage door.
uh oh.

This is what I saw outside the back door of the garage.
uh oh.

The kids had a blast in the snow . . . it was soooo deep.

Ummmm . . . where did our pool go??

The task of shoveling (no, we do not own a snowblower) seemed very daunting, but we managed to clear it up within a couple of hours. 
I have received several compliments about my husband's beautiful snowpants . . . he said he just didn't want to get lost in all that white snow!)

Luke helped shovel.

Jake was one happy guy since there was no school.

Caroline was pretty happy, too.

Luke was just happy to be with Jake and Caroline.
:)

When the kids weren't outside, they were in playing Wii.

And eating cookies!!

We are so excited because we found out that tomorrow is also a
SNOW DAY!

A Snowy Day and a Meatloaf Recipe

Today, the kids woke up to a wintry wonderland outside.
It's a good thing it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Snow Days never happen around here (because we get a lot of snow and the plows are just way too efficient . . . don't get the kids started on that one!) so we pretended it was a Snow Day!! 

John and Jake had fun shoveling.

Anyone want to hire him?? He's good.

Luke had fun doing this.

Caroline had fun building me a snowman with her buddy.

I had fun making this for supper. YUM.

Best Ever Meatloaf

2 Tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I use a slice of whole wheat bread all crumbled up)

1 egg

1/4 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

3/4 teaspoon salt

Saute the onions and garlic in the butter.

Mix all of the ingredients together and put in loaf pan. (I put it on a cookie sheet so it is flatter for some reason)

Squirt more ketchup all over the top and bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. 

Happy "First Day of Spring"

Yesterday, the kids and I were running around in the backyard with no shoes on. Today . . . well, look at this . . .

What a difference a day makes!!

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24

Snowy Day

Last night we got about 5 inches of snow, which I was really happy about since all of the snow in our front yard had melted. It was THE PERFECT snowman-building-kind-of-snow . . . finally!! It is usually way to cold for snowmen . . . the snow usually just falls apart. The kids and I had soooo much fun building this guy today.Caroline built a little snowcat for the snowman.
Luke had so much fun just playing in the snow. I built huge snowballs for him to demolish.

Our snowy day snack was fondue. (or "fundue" as the kids like to call it)

Snowy days are blessings!! We had so much fun!! (now if Jake and Daddy would only have a snow day!!)

Sledding with Cousins

OK . . . so here are a few pictures of the zillion that I took last week when we were up in Wisconsin visiting my brother's family. We had so much fun outside in the snow!! They live on a LOT of land, so we had many places to sled right in their backyard.

Go Holly!!

What a cutie . . . Dawson.

Uncle Steve

I couldn't get this picture to go the right way, but I kinda like it this way . . . looks like cutie Dawson is pushing his truck down a STEEEEP hill! ;)
Hey SOX fan

Hello!!

Peek-a-boo!!

Who's that guy?!? Could it be little Luke??

There goes Auntie Becca . . . in a truck . . . with a vacuum!!? (she was going to get the "cabin" in the woods all ready for us to warm up in after sledding)

Caroline and Houston ready to go down the hill

These two are having waaaay too much fun!!

Oh look! I decided to give it a try! It was super fun!! (way faster than I had anticipated, actually)

Warming up in the cabin in the woods. I was thankful for all of those warm bodies to keep me cozy.

Awwww . . .

Here comes Auntie Becca!!

We had a great time with the Eckstroms!! Our time together was a blessing!! ;)